Recap of August TVCNet Meeting: Effective Internet Research

TVCNet members and guests of the business community came out to The WaterCooler on Thursday, August 28th to hear Richard Garber speak on Effective Internet Research.

As I told the crowd in my opening dialogue, the reason I planned this event was to help consultants leverage the web writing and research for the business and their clients. As consultants, one way we demonstrate our knowledge and expertise is through our writing whether it is in a blog, white papers or articles published in periodicals or on the web.

We have become accustom to the Internet as a treasure trove of information, however it is so vast and can often be misleading. Richard's presentation helped those in attendance by providing tools that can be used as well as tactics and strategies to find valuable, credible information.

As an audience member, a few things jumped out in my mind as the "gems" of the presentation.

• The nuggets of information tend to be more abstract and difficult to find. As consultants we want to take the abstract and make it more concrete for the people we are trying to connect to.
• Set out with a goal in mind when conducting an Internet search. Because the web is so large, you have to consider what you are willing to invest in time and effort to find what you are looking for.
• If you are ever stuck in an Internet search trying to answer a question, ask the same question a different way or approach it from a different standpoint. You'll be surprised how easily you can arrive at an answer.

The Internet is a wonderful tool for finding information, but if you know how to navigate it effectively you'll find what you are looking for to support your own work and the work you do for your clients.

Richard closed by providing the audience with a great resource for learning more about Internet research:

• Finding Information on the Internet - UC Berkeley

If you would like to keep up with Richard, he maintains a blog on public speaking.